Auto Racing Insider Pete Pistone Posted Sunday, March 14, 2010
For the first time in six years, NASCAR's top three divisions shared the weekend off. There was still plenty of racing going on and extra time to mull over some issues while we wait for NASCAR to return to action in Bristol this weekend:
The IndyCar Series kicked off its season in Brazil in what I'm told was a somewhat entertaining race. I, like millions of others, didn't get to see the race since the Versus Network is blacked out by DirecTV, a battle that has been raging on since last year. Even if the IRL is putting on the best racing since the invention of the wheel, until Versus gets this issue straightened out the series continues to suffer a black eye for putting together a television deal that even before the satellite provider issue, shrunk the potential viewing audience in a big way.
The race was shortened when torential rains stopped the event early on. But when the skies cleared and the green flag waved, that delay somehow worked its way into the race becoming a timed event and rather than going its advertised distance in laps was forced to end early to fit inside a television window. What I don't understand is if Versus is paying a rights fee, as I understood to be the case and the IRL wasn't buying the time on the network, why were the proceedings shortened?
The short track season kicked off around the country over the weekend, although rain played havoc with some of the planned openings. More local tracks will be opening their gates as the Spring months roll on and I can't stress to you enough the importance of finding a short track to visit some time this year. The entertainment factor is about as high as its gets and the industry, along with the men and women who promote the short track world, need and deserve all of our support.
The laundry list I have for what can be considered a successful short track experience is pretty simple. Affordable ticket prices, edible and reasonably-priced concessions, a fast-paced program, clean restrooms and an entertaining show. There are so many tracks that adhere to that formula but sadly many operators who still don't get it.
As long as we're talking short tracks here's another sticky issue that needs to be addressed.....track promoters need to work together. Instead of having a set of rules that apply only to one track, why can't more promoters put together a package that allows teams and drivers to run at different facilities? And everyone can't hold their racing programs on Saturday nights. Several tracks that before this season had Friday or Sunday night events are switching to Saturdays which will carve up both potential competitors and fans.
And continuing with the confusion theme, the people who run what is now known as the Sunoco National Tour have to make one more adjustment to straighten out a ridiculous issue that has been a problem for years. What was known as the ASA Challenge Series is now the Sunoco National Tour, which will use Camaro and Mustang bodies that look cool but are only eligible for that specific series. I question that logic in these tough economic times. But the same group that oversees that series also runs what is now being called the ASA Late Model Series, a crate engine stock car circuit which is not the super late model ASA Midwest Tour or any other circuit run under the official "ASA" banner, which is headed by former NASCAR official Dennus Huth out of Daytona Beach. In every press release that comes out of what I'll refer to as the "fake" ASA folks - just to help try to keep clear a fuzzy at best situation - this boiler plate paragraph is tacked on: "The Sunoco National Tour and ASA Late Model Series are their own entity and not endorsed, sponsored or affiliated in any way with ASA Racing, American Speed Association or the ASA Member Track Program. The Sunoco National Tour and the ASA Late Model Series are operated by Ron Varney." It would seem to me that if these folks go to such lengths to distance themselves from the official ASA operations, why do they insist in using those letters? I have heard from hundreds of fans who don't know the difference and by keeping this mess alive all that is being accomplished is a complete disservice to the storied ASA name and short track racing fans around the country.
Pete Pistone is the Senior Editor of MotorRacingNetwork.com. Pistone is also the co-host of "The Morning Drive," which airs Monday through Friday from 7-11 a.m. ET on Sirius NASCAR Radio Channel 128 and is an on-air reporter for additional Sirius and MRN programming. Pistone is a sports reporter/anchor for Chicago's WGN Radio and also hosts weekly auto racing segments on the station. And he also serves as the national motorsports writer for CBS Sports.com.
